I used to collect hockey cards back in the nineties - now I just collect baseball and football. I have a question - a long time ago, I pulled the 96-97 Black Diamond Joe Thornton and I was wondering why it is priced so high - I know it was his rookie year but does anybody know how many were made? or why it is so valuable? Any help or info would be appreciated.

The triple diamond base cards were inserted one per box, and given that Thornton only had three RC's (BD, Ice, UD), and the fact that the set has some pretty highly sought after cards since it's the first year of BD all adds up to a nice BV. They seem to go in the $200-300 range, from what I see. Although, I got mine a while back and haven't paid much attention to what they go for since then

Thanks for the response and good info. I'm thinking another part of the reason they are valuable is that they are condition-sensitive. Also, I think you're right - they do go in the $300 range - it used to be higher but that particular card has gone down in value, but I'm still happy to have it! Thanks again for your help!

(01-23-2013 08:20 PM)emilydan Wrote: Thanks for the response and good info. I'm thinking another part of the reason they are valuable is that they are condition-sensitive. Also, I think you're right - they do go in the $300 range - it used to be higher but that particular card has gone down in value, but I'm still happy to have it! Thanks again for your help!

very much so... seems 7.5-8.5 is the general range for graded copies. I think a real good indication of the set value and popularity is the high (read: higher than usual or expected) demand for the Lalime RC when they pop up

(01-23-2013 07:39 PM)phildo37 Wrote: The triple diamond base cards were inserted one per box, and given that Thornton only had three RC's (BD, Ice, UD), and the fact that the set has some pretty highly sought after cards since it's the first year of BD all adds up to a nice BV. They seem to go in the $200-300 range, from what I see. Although, I got mine a while back and haven't paid much attention to what they go for since then